More than 100 tenants are celebrating after a judge tentatively ruled to stop the mass evictions at Barrington Plaza. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
A judge issued a tentative ruling on Thursday to stop the mass evictions of tenants at the Barrington Plaza apartment complex in West Los Angeles.
The ruling comes a day after the anniversary of when the Barrington Plaza Tenants Association originally filed its complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against Barrington Pacific and Douglas Emmett.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, H. Jay Ford, stated that the property owners did not intend to "go out of business" under the Ellis Act, but rather temporarily remove tenants to remodel the units in an operation that they expected to take 3 to 5 years to complete.
The ruling is only tentative but will stop any tenants from being evicted from the rent-controlled apartment complex. The Barrington Plaza tenants and the Coalition for Economic Survival state the lawsuit is a "tremendous victory."
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"This is, no doubt, one of the most important tenants' rights legal victory in state history," said Larry Gross, executive director for the Coalition for Economic Survival. "This victory shows when tenants unite and organize they can win."
Eric Rose, a spokesperson for Barrington Plaza, did not have a statement following the ruling in the lawsuit.
